Can You Hear Me Now?
by AuDC Productions
Summary: They were dead. He could speak now. They should listen. But they wouldn't hear him. No one ever hears him. *Takes place after Shattered Persona*.


**Author's Notes:** Okay, so I have almost completed Ivan's showcase but I will not post it only because it would be a major spoiler alert and I don't want that. Instead, I will post Jericho's showcase. This showcase takes place a few months after Jake's death (Fall of 2011), yet prior to _Untamable_. It is a small one-shot that more or less digs into Grant's thoughts of his older siblings. The next chapter of Arkham Rising should be out by Friday (Saturday maybe) and the Joker's showcase (which is basically done) will be out the next day. To all the mothers in the world, happy Mother's Day. Enjoy.

* * *

AuDC Productions Showcase: Jericho

Can You Hear Me Now?

They were finally dead.

…

…

That was probably not the best way to think. Said thoughts made him sound as crazy as his uncle. However, there was a part of him that could not help but to feel some sense of rejoice. This feeling was not here because his older siblings were dead, but because now his voice could be the only voice of a child that his father hears.

Unless his father goes insane and begins to hear things, that is.

However, as Grant Joseph Worth stood at the gravesites of Jake and Rose Wilson, an unresolved feeling of envy and hatred began to form on his face. It wasn't enough that they held their father's attention but the world's attention too? Why? Wasn't Grant just a good, if not better for actually having _powers_ , as them?

The urge to spit on their graves grew strong but his proper upbringings and overall character forced those thoughts out of his head. He wasn't a savage like those two. He would not debase the gravesite of a deceased no matter what he truly felt about the person buried there.

His eyes locked onto Rose's tombstone first. Loving daughter, yeah right. From what Grant overheard from Wintergreen, Rose did more than her fair share of lashing out at her mother for unknown reasons. And then the whack-job became an assassin and took out her bizarre rage on other people. Working with Wintergreen allowed Grant to get a more in-depth view of Ravager. She was crying for her dad's attention despite being the damn apple of his remaining eye. Well… Maybe not. Maybe the apple of his _destroyed_ eye? And why was that?

Grant then looked at the tombstone for the true apple of Slade's good eye; Jake Nathaniel Wilson. What made _him_ so special? He was a thief in a hi-tech suit who got his rocks off by annoying people. So fucking what? What made so many people- half of which whom was _robbed_ by the guy- show up at his funeral? Grant wanted to know so badly and yet he knew he would never get his answer. Jake was a hard one to pin down and his actions only proved that. Wintergreen had told Grant that in the event that Red X attacked him that Grant should not attempt to possess him. Grant listened and now he would never be able to dive into his older brother's mind to find these answers.

Never…

Grant felt his fists clench at his sides and took in a deep breath. This isn't how it was supposed to be. There was supposed to be one man (Deathstroke), one woman (preferably Grant's mother Lillian), a brother (Jake), a sister (Rose), and their trusted butler/family friend, Wintergreen. They were supposed to live in a large house where Jake playfully taunted but protected his siblings, Rose complained about her brother's crowding her personal space, and Grant accepted any subtle bullying his siblings threw his way with the knowledge that it would not be but that severe and his parents would reprimand his siblings for doing so. When Grant grew old enough, Jake would tell him about the world of women while Rose would caution her little brother not to be like their pigheaded big brother and be a gentleman. There would be no Teen Titans. There would be no League of Assassins. There would be no Vigilante Inc. or TYGER. It was supposed to be an average family living an average English life.

But no, _no_!

 _They_ got the mom and dad!

 _They_ got the large _American_ home!

 _They_ got Vigilante Inc and the League of Assassins involved!

 _They_ got the Teen Titans' attention!

They ruined everything and then died before Grant could fix it. What was worse was that they were now probably somewhere in Purgatory in the comforting arms of their mother while Grant's mother was dead and Slade hardly acknowledged his youngest son.

They will always win, Grant thought, no matter what he did.

"You never heard me either…" Grant speaks softly.

That was also a problem of his. He had wanted to call out to his siblings as soon as his vocal chords were fixed. He wanted to tell them how he felt about everything now that he was given the chance to.

But they hardly paid him attention.

Rose he had met while in disguise. She, Ravager, was angry for one reason or another. She lashed out on several civilians for unknown reasons and was heard talking to herself, berating herself. At the time, Jericho was too afraid to even step up towards her. He was sure she would have slashed him with her bloodied swords if he had. A wide-eyed curly blond haired kid just screamed fodder to someone like Ravager. If he was unable to possess her, he was sure he would have died if he approached her. Yet, what struck him as odd, was the woman that appeared and simply told Ravager to stop, which she did. The pair walked by him and he, from his fear, avoided eye contact. He, Jericho, was somehow afraid that if Ravager made eye contact with him, she would possess him with fear and then kill him then.

And then there was his run in with Red X. The Brotherhood had long been defeated yet Red X had somehow managed not to even show during the final fight. Jericho would be one of the members of the Teen Titans to find Red X and battle him. It was during this fight that Grant realized that there was something off about his older brother. For starters, Red X had not actually stolen anything, just set off the alarms. Afterwards, when the first group of Titans arrived, Red X was not joking. He was not jovial. He was not even happy to see them. Well, he was happy to see them but in a different way than usual. Usually Red X was only pleased to see the female members of the group. On that particular day, Red X was more than happy to see _every_ member of the Teen Titans.

Just so he could dismantle them.

Jericho remembers the fight very clear. How Red X picked them off one by one was like watching the main villain in a horror film pick off the unfortunate victims in the original movie and sequels. No one was safe. And when it came down for Jericho to face off against Red X, Jericho could not say anything. He could not do anything. He attempted to hold of Jake as best as he could but the superior fighter won that day. Before Jericho was rendered unconscious, he saw something that haunted him till this day. Not an image of the resemblance between Jake and Slade.

The similarities between Red X and Deathstroke the Terminator.

In both cases, his siblings just overlooked their relationship, their connections. They did their own things and treated him like he was some random person in their way. And he never voiced differently.

"Can you guys hear me now?" he asked quietly. "Can you hear your little brother now? The same brother you took his father from? The same brother who lost his mother yet no one mourned? Can any of you hear the bastard now?!"

He did not even know that he was crying until his blurred vision obscured Jake's name on the tombstone. Now he had to question _why_ he was crying. It wasn't like he was close to them and they sure as hell had no feelings for him. So why was he crying?

"Who are you?" Grant quickly composed himself and turned to see the blonde girl from Jake's funeral; Artemis Crock. He had done his research. He knew who her parents and sister were. He also knew the relationship she had with his older brother.

Of course his brother would get the girl. Red X got everything he wanted.

"Who are you?" Artemis asked again, this time more force in her voice.

"Sorry, just a friend from England," Grant lied. "I just found out about…"

"Jake," Artemis finished, her voice now calm and soft. "I'm sorry no one told you about it earlier…"

"It's fine. We weren't close. I mean, we were just… It's hard to explain." Grant rambled. He was never one to ramble but every spy relied on their brain for cover stories and at the moment, his brain was still on the fact that his siblings were dead.

"I understand. I felt the same way." said the girl, her eyes going elsewhere.

Grant could feel something strong between the girl in front of him and his deceased brother. He theorized that the common factor of Red X is what Artemis was referring to.

"You knew about him being, you know?" Grant interrogated. This gained him a pair of angered gray eyes.

"He was more than Red X, okay? So just shut up about that." Artemis snapped back. Months of having to hear about her boyfriend secretly being Red X had done nothing to help her grieve his death and she was more than ready to physically snap on the first person who reminded her of the fact again. "Who are you anyway?"

"Joseph," Grant introduced himself. "I met Jake in New York a few years ago and then again in Jump City two years ago. I knew him as Jake Wilson and, well, Red X. He had never robbed me though. He actually… He actually helped me. That's why I'm here."

"Oh… Sorry," Artemis quickly mutters her apology. "I just… People get the wrong idea about him, you know? Sure he was an ass, but that was kind of his thing. His charm. And he helped people. He listened to problems. He went out of his way to walk me to class. Stayed up late to do homework. He even snuck into my apartment whenever I was having a bad day and held me until I fell asleep…" Artemis paused and gave Grant a sharp look. "Don't tell anyone about that last part."

"I won't." Grant quickly agrees.

"I just… I wish people saw him like we did. The quarterback with a technology fetish. A guy who didn't let his problems take control of him and never directed his anger towards someone who did not deserve it." Artemis continued. "He was funny and witty. Smart and calm. He probably would have endured the weight of the world if only I had told him…" Again she stops. "Nothing. Don't worry about that."

"You loved him," Grant stated quietly as he swallows. After Artemis nodded, he continued. "He was… Like a brother to me."

There was a pregnant pause between the two. Grant swore he heard Artemis say something but could not decipher what it was. Instead he chose that moment to prepare for his departure.

"Um, I have to go back home to Oxford soon. I hope you do find out the answers you want." Grant said. "Fortis est veritas. The truth is strong."

Grant moved by Artemis, heading for the exit of the graveyard. Before he was out of earshot of the girl, he heard her speaking to his brother's grave.

"It's me again," Artemis was heard saying. "I don't know if you heard him or not, but your brother just showed up. Jericho?"

Grant left as soon as he heard that. Somehow Artemis was able to say what Grant was too afraid to back then. And he was sure that Jake heard her and not Grant. Why?

Because to Grant, Jake and Rose were finally dead.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Just a heads up, Grant/Jericho will have some huge scenes in the upcoming Outsider Arc. He will be a part of Ravager's storylines mostly, but he will cross Nightwing, Kassidy, and the Black Spider at least once. Again, hope you liked it. Next chapter will be out soon, Joker's showcase (long overdue) will be next, and finally there will be a special past showcase for an upcoming foe in the Outsider Arc called Strike. Until then, drop a review or PM for any thoughts, questions, or comments and I'll respond as soon as possible. Till then, later.


End file.
